Cambodia in Ten Days

Ban Lung
Cambodia began with our first land border crossing. We were quickly introduced to the corrupt nature of the Cambodian government here as we were asked for a couple of US dollars at every checkpoint-for the health department, for the exit stamp, for the entry stamp, etc. After making it through safely we arrived in Strung Treng-our first stop of a two leg journey to Ban Lung. In Strung Treng we found out there were no more seats on the buses to Ban Lung (though we were welcome to sit on a stool in the aisle). Our luck changed, however, and we met up with a man named Mr. T (try to picture a petite Cambodian man, I know its hard) and his family, with whom we shared a private minibus to Ban Lung. Mr. T owns a guesthouse in Ban Lung which was beautiful and we spent two lovely nights there perched atop a hill overlooking the valley of the city. Mr. T was a great resource and he was the first Cambodian we met who discussed with us some of the tragic recent history of Cambodia and of the Khmer Rouge. In Ban Lung Mark, Sarah, Chris and I went for a swim in the nearby crater lake and the next day we embarked on a two day one night trek into the surrounding jungle. We were accompanied by another amazing guide named Smey who was quite the character. Again, we ate some amazing food during the trek, one meal of which was cooked inside a rod of bamboo over the fire. Below is a photo of the four of us beside of the incredible trees we came upon in the jungle. We camped that night by a river which had a great swimming hole that we jumped into by swinging on a vine. We slept under a tarp in some US Army style hammocks that proved to be really comfortable.


Starting our trek via a short motorbike ride




Our sleeping quarters during the trek


Lindsay swinging into the cool waters after a long day of hiking





The sunset on day 2's walk back to civilization.


On our way from Ban Lung to Siem Reap we made a pit stop in Skoun, known to locals as "the spider village". With my arachniphobia, I was thrilled to say the least. At our bus stop there were some deep fried spiders for sale and Mark was quick to gobble one up in a spider sandwich (though after a couple bites he just ate the whole spider by itself!) Chris had a leg or two as well, though Sarah and I steered clear of the eight legged lunch.

I prefer my spider on a hoagie


Good to the last leg

Siem Reap
From Ban Lung we took a 14 hour bus ride to Siem Reap, the jumping off point to see the Angkor temples nearby. We spent two full days visiting the temples. We had all heard that the temples were stunning and they completely lived up to our expectations. There was an incredible diversity of styles and levels of preservation and even with two full days we never tired of exploring them. We saw about ten temples (all built between the 9th and 12th Centuries) in two days including the most famous, Angkor Wat-see below. See also an example of carvings on the temples.







The Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom.


Sarah and Chris at Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is where they did some filming for the movie Tomb Raider and was preserved in the state that the temple was in when it was "rediscovered" by the French, so there are huge trees growing over, around, inside of the ruins.




In addition to amazing temples, another highlight of Angkor Wat was our guide, Mr. Samnang. Mr. Samnang had an incredible knowledge of the temples, but he also opened up to us about his personal history and his experiences during the Khmer Rouge years. It meant a lot to us that he was willing to share a lot of emotional experiences with us and really gave us a unique opportunity to be able to get a sense of the complex and emotional issues facing the people and the government of Cambodia today.

Siem Reap was also where the four of us decided to celebrate Sarah's birthday (a few days late). We decided to live it up a bit and stay in a really wonderful boutique hotel for two nights. We then "dressed up" (meaning we wore one of the five outfits we have been wearing for the last three months) for dinner and drinks. Dinner was fantastic-crab and pork chops! See photo.

Phnom Penh
After Siem Reap we moved onto the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. We delved further into Cambodian history by visiting the Trung Sleng (S-21) Prison in the city where the Khmer Rouge sent thousands of prisoners to be tortured between 1975-1979. We also went to the Killing Fields outside the city where some 17,000 people were slaughtered and buried in mass graves. It was a really emotional and intense experience, but something not to be forgotten. Below is a photo of the pagoda that contains many of the skeletal remains of the people buried at the Killing Fields.


Sadly Phnom Penh was Chris's last destination on his trip and it was here that Mark, Sarah and I said bye. We found out 24 hours later that Chris made it safely back to Chicago. And then there were three...

Kep
After Phnom Penh Mark, Sarah and I took a bus to Kep a small beach town on the southern coast of Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand. Kep is known for its crab-they even built a giant crab statue in the middle of town (see photo). Kep was also where we had one of the best meals of our trip-crab with peppercorns and prawns amok (coconut stew). Sorry Chris!


Please note Sarah's crab hands.

After a quick stop in Kep we were back on the road again and over the border to our last country-Vietnam.